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Fiber is called a poisonous mushroom of the cobweb family. This mushroom got its name because of the fibrous stem. In terms of its toxicity, the fiber is greater than the fly agaric: some of its species contain 20 times more muscarine than the red fly agaric.
These mushrooms, especially young ones, are very similar to edible mushrooms. The danger of these mushrooms is aggravated by the fact that they grow in the same places as edible mushrooms (mushrooms, annular caps). Inexperienced mushroom pickers can also confuse fiber with entoloms or May row (May mushroom).
Types of fibers
Fiber is a very common genus of poisonous and hallucinogenic mushrooms. This genus includes about 150 species, of which more than a hundred grows in Russia. The most common types of it are: Patuyara, ragged, earthy, fibrous and bluish-green.
Fibrous Patuillard
These are the most poisonous mushrooms of the fiber genus. They have hats 3-9 cm in diameter. Its shape differs in mushrooms of varying degrees of maturity: in young ones it is cone-shaped, in ripe ones it is flat with a tubercle in the center. The reddish cap is smooth, with deep radial cracks along its edge. The plates on the back of the cap are very thick, in young specimens they are painted pink, in mature specimens they are brown with red spots. Spore powder is bright orange in color.
The fiber stalk of Patuillard is cylindrical, dense, fibrous, has a thickening at the base.
The flesh of young mushrooms is white; as it ripens, it turns red. The pulp has no smell, the taste is peppery. It contains a huge amount of poisonous muscarine.
These mushrooms grow in small groups in forests, parks, gardens with clay and limestone soils. Fruiting in August-September.
Fiber fiber torn
This species is distinguished by its small size: their bell-shaped hat has a diameter of 2 to 5 cm. The top of the hat is covered with small scales, painted in different shades of brown, with a flaky fringe along the edges. On the underside of the cap are brown-colored plates with a white edge. Spore powder is rusty in color.
The leg is straight, brown, covered with reddish scales.
The flesh of the cap is white, and the flesh of the leg is red. The smell of the pulp is weak, and the taste is sweet at first, then bitter. The use of these mushrooms is strictly prohibited, as they are deadly poisonous.
Grow everywhere in damp forests. Fruiting in July-September.
Earth fiber
These are small poisonous mushrooms. The cap of this type of fibers has a diameter of 2-3 cm, hemispherical, the remains of a private bedspread in the form of a thin gossamer are visible along the edges. The surface of the cap is white, has a slight purple tint. The plates on the back of the cap are free, yellowish in color.
The stem of the mushroom is thin, silky, brown or brown. The pulp has an unpleasant odor. It contains a lot of neurotoxic poison muscarine.
They grow singly or in small groups, in forests, parks, gardens, hiding in bushes or tall grass. Ripen in July-September.
Fibrous fibrous
These poisonous mushrooms are medium in size – the diameter of the cap is 6-8 cm. The cap is cone-shaped with a wavy edge, dirty yellow or brown. Its surface is covered with radial cracks. On the underside of the cap there are white or brown plates with jagged edges.
The flesh is elastic, white-yellow on the cap and brown on the stem. The pulp contains the neurotoxic poison muscarine and the psychotropic substance psilocybin.
The leg is brown in color, about 10 cm high, covered with fibers. It is thickened at the base, forms a tuber in the ground.
They grow in coniferous and deciduous forests, in clearings with sparse herbaceous vegetation. Only single specimens are found.
Fiber bluish-green
Mushroom caps of this species do not exceed 4-5 cm in diameter. The surface of the caps is silky, smooth, rusty in color with a green tint. In young they are cone-shaped, in the process of maturation they flatten, but a tubercle remains in the center. On the edge of the cap of mature individuals crack. On the underside there are gray-brown plates.
The pulp is white, in the lower part of the leg – a green-blue hue, which gave the name to this species. The mushroom smells like toilet soap. It contains many different psychotropic (hallucinogenic) substances, the main of which is psilocybin.
The legs are even, thickened at the base, without an earthen tuber, covered in the upper part with powdery coating and fibers.
They grow everywhere on soils with a lot of sand, form mycorrhiza with deciduous trees. Often found in parks. Fruiting from June to October.
The bluish-green fiber is a conditionally inedible mushroom. Mushrooms of this species do not cause poisoning similar to poisoning by other types of fibers, however, when they are used, auditory and visual hallucinations, a state of euphoria occur.
How to distinguish
In order not to make a mistake when picking mushrooms, before putting them in a basket, you need to carefully study the structure:
- The fiber cap most often has the shape of a bell or a cone with a sharp tubercle, covered with a fibrous sheath on top. As the fungus grows, radial cracks appear on the cap.
- On the underside of the cap there are yellowish or brown-brown plates.
- The leg expands towards the base, is tender to the touch, covered with scales and fibers.
- The flesh of the fungus is whitish or yellowish, most often has an unpleasant odor.
- Spores are brown-brown powder.
Different types of fibers have distinctive features.
Chemical composition
The fiber pulp contains many neurotoxic substances – muscarine and psilocybin. In different types of fiber, the ratio of these two substances is significantly different. Thus, the maximum amount of muscarine is found in the fiber of Patuillard, and the highest content of psilocybin is noted in a bluish-green form.
Alkaloid muscarine
The toxic substance – the alkaloid muscarine – in the human body is able to excite a group of cholinergic receptors, which are located in the membranes of postganglionic (post-nodal) nerves. These receptors are called M-receptors, that is, muscarinic. Binding to these receptors explains the powerful neurotoxic effect of muscarine, which results in a spasm of the smooth muscles of the walls of internal organs, the openings of peripheral vessels expand, the heart rate slows down, and the secretory functions of the glands increase.
By binding to M-receptors, muscarine stimulates spastic contraction of the smooth muscle layer of the walls of the digestive system. Acceleration of intestinal peristalsis leads to severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. As a result of strong contractions of the walls of the stomach, vomiting occurs.
In addition to spasm of the smooth muscles of the digestive system, muscarine causes contraction of the smooth muscle layers of the gallbladder, spleen, uterus, bladder, bronchi, salivary and sweat glands, lacrimal sacs.
A poisonous alkaloid causes a sharp decrease in the pupil, resulting in a spasm of accommodation. Large doses of muscarine cause cardiac arrest in diastole, that is, at the moment of relaxation.
hallucinogen psilocybin
Psilocybin is a psychedelic (hallucinogenic) substance. The chemical formula of this compound is similar to the serotonin molecule, which is responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses in synapses. By blocking serotonin receptors, psilocybin causes a feeling of euphoria, visual and auditory hallucinations. Under its influence, a person loses the sense of time. Thanks to such psychotropic actions, mushrooms containing this hallucinogen have long been used in ritual practices.
In addition to psychotropic effects, psilocybin also exhibits other properties:
- dilates pupils;
- causes cardiac arrhythmias and blood pressure instability;
- increases the amplitude of the knee jerk;
- provokes a gag reflex;
- disrupts the coordination of movements.
Repeated use of psilocybin increases the body’s tolerance to this substance, causing addiction to it. The high content of this substance in mushrooms is indirectly indicated by the bluish color of their pulp, which occurs as a result of the oxidation of phenols.
mushroom danger
The danger of fibers of different types depends on the concentration of one or another neurotropic substance in their pulp. The use of mushrooms with a high content of psilocybin leads to pronounced psychotropic effects, and the ingestion of muscarine-containing mushrooms causes acute poisoning and can lead to death.
The most dangerous mushroom of this genus for human life is Patuillard fiber, the use of 10 g of which can result in the death of a person.
Signs of poisoning
Accidental consumption of fibers can lead to muscarine poisoning, which is manifested by symptoms:
- bitterness in the mouth;
- severe pain in the abdomen;
- nausea and vomiting;
- with pride;
- suffocation;
- salivation;
- sweating;
- heart rhythm disorder;
- drop in blood pressure;
- flushing of the face;
- impaired visual acuity and double vision;
- convulsions;
- cardiac arrest.
The first signs appear 15-20 minutes after the poison enters the stomach. The severity of symptoms of poisoning depends on the amount of muscarine ingested. If a person is not provided with first aid in time, and in case of severe poisoning, an antidote is not administered, then everything can end in death.
Help with poisoning
The sooner assistance is provided to a person who has been poisoned by a muscarine-containing mushroom, the more chances he has to survive and recover. If the first signs of muscarine poisoning are found and there is information about the use of mushrooms, an ambulance should be called immediately.
In this case, it is necessary to draw the dispatcher’s attention to the fact that there is a suspicion of mushroom poisoning. This information may influence the composition and qualifications of the ambulance team: in large cities, this is most likely to be the toxicology team.
First aid
Before the arrival of doctors, you should begin to provide first aid. It includes the required steps:
- Induce vomiting and flush the stomach with plenty of water.
- After complete cleansing of the stomach (if possible), the patient should be given activated charcoal at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kg or any other absorbent.
- Give a cleansing enema.
At the same time, it is necessary to understand that it is absolutely impossible to give any painkillers or antispasmodics to the patient before the arrival of doctors, since there will be a distortion of clinical symptoms, unforeseen consequences may arise from taking these drugs against the background of poisoning. In addition, the effectiveness of further drug treatment may be reduced.
The remains of all not eaten mushrooms or dishes from them must be saved. If there are none left, then it is advisable to collect vomit in any clean container.
Health care
Medical care in case of muscarine poisoning is the introduction of an antidote – atropine. Its administration causes reversible paralysis of parasympathetic nerve endings, resulting in blocking of the muscarine-like effect.
For further detoxification therapy, a patient with muscarine poisoning or suspicion of it should be hospitalized (if possible) in a specialized toxicological department or intensive care unit.
Conclusions
Fiber is a very common inedible mushroom in Russia. Some fibers, such as bluish green, contain a lot of the hallucinogenic substance psilocybin. Of particular danger are poisonous mushrooms of the Patuillard species, whose representatives contain the neurotoxic poison muscarine.
The danger of these mushrooms, in addition to their chemical composition, is aggravated by the fact that they have an outward resemblance to many edible mushrooms (champignons, May mushrooms) and grow with them in the same areas. Therefore, all novice mushroom pickers need to carefully study the features of their morphology in order to be able to distinguish fibers from edible mushrooms.
In the case of the use of fibers in food, acute poisoning can occur, which is fatal. At the first sign of poisoning with these mushrooms, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, and while the team is traveling, the victim must be given first aid.